During the Meiji era, it was said that after sunset, demons would devour humans.
There was also the Demon Slayer Corps, comprised of demon slayers, who would slay demons and protect humanity.
Haruto, blindfolded and with earplugs, was sprawled on the back of an 'Invisible', swaying in the darkness.
As a child raised in the Swordsmith Village, it was his first time leaving the village.
This was because the Swordsmith Village was a crucial logistics department within the Demon Slayer Corps, specializing in forging nichirin blades for Demon Slayer Swordsmen.
To prevent routes from being leaked and attacked by demons, anyone entering or exiting the Swordsmith Village had to be carried by members of another Demon Slayer Corps logistics department, the 'Invisible'.
Although Haruto had lived in the Swordsmith Village since he was a child, he wasn't a formal swordsmith, so when he left, his eyes were still covered and his ears plugged.
It felt so strange... like a piece of cargo being passed from one 'Invisible' to another beneath him.
The entire journey was incredibly convoluted, and the 'Invisible' members responsible for carrying him would frequently change, with each person only responsible for a segment of the journey.
Each time he was exchanged, Haruto would pull out two rice balls, made by his master, from his backpack and hand them to the 'Invisible' who had just carried him.
"Thank you for your hard work! Please enjoy!"
He didn't know what expression the other person had, or what they would say.
But each time, the rice balls in his hand were taken, so the other person must have sincerely accepted his gratitude.
"Why is he so heavy..."
The last 'Invisible' member walked breathlessly along the path, following the instructions of the messenger crow with heavy steps.
"He doesn't look particularly sturdy, but it's even harder than carrying Mr. Himejima..."
Finally reaching their destination, the 'Invisible' placed him by the roadside and removed Haruto's blindfold and earplugs.
After a long time without light, his misty blue pupils constricted, then slowly focused on the 'Invisible's' face.
The 'Invisible' member, clearly a girl beneath her face covering, was startled by Haruto's appearance, and a faint blush rose to her cheeks.
"Mr. Takanashi, the rest of the journey is up to you."
Haruto saw the other person's face covered in sweat and, feeling apologetic, pulled out two more hand-rolled sushi:
"Thank you for your hard work! Please enjoy!"
"...Mr. Takanashi, did you carry so many rice balls with you? You must have handed out quite a few along the way, haven't you? Do you have enough left to last you until Fujikasane Mountain?"
"Don't you worry!"
Haruto cheerfully patted his backpack: "Master prepared 200 rice balls for me before I left!"
"200 rice balls... o_O"
For some reason, the girl's expression beneath her face covering turned resentful.
"Eh, but how did you know my surname is Takanashi?"
Haruto scratched the back of his head: "I don't think I ever introduced myself."
"'Invisible' members sometimes chat about anecdotes when they're not busy."
The girl replied: "Everyone knows there's a demon slayer swordsman from the Swordsmith Village, taught by a swordsmith, who's preparing to go to Fujikasane Mountain for the selection.
But speaking of children from the Swordsmith Village, why would one choose to become a demon slayer Swordsman?"
"Perhaps it's because I never had the talent for forging swords since I was little, and I ate a lot... To keep me from becoming a big fat pig, Master had to find something else for me to do."
Haruto flexed the muscles in his arms: "Don't let my slender appearance fool you, my muscles are actually very developed!"
...Hmm, I somehow felt that the girl's expression wasn't very good when she said goodbye to him, and she kept holding her waist.
It seems the 'Invisible's' work is also very strenuous.
Haruto perked up, pulling his backpack higher on his shoulders.
Fourteen years, he had been transmigrated for fourteen years, and finally today he was leaving the small Swordsmith Village, about to embark on the journey of his new life.
In the third year after he first transmigrated, Haruto learned from everyone's conversations that he had transmigrated into the world of demon slayer.
However, because in his previous life he had only heard about this anime from his roommate who was into 2D culture, and hadn't actually watched it, he wasn't familiar with the plot of this world.
Even the main characters... who could tell him who the 'Big Brother', 'Third Brother', 'Scum Boss', 'Head Pillar', 'Sleep Pillar', and 'Ninja Wife' his roommate mentioned actually were?
For a moment, he didn't know if he was watching a shonen anime or SpongeBob.
Although Master always said that outside the village was dangerous, with evil demons running rampant and preying on humans.
The various powerful Demon Slayer Corps members coming and going in the village also proved that outside the village was indeed not a paradise.
But for Haruto, who had transmigrated, if he were to spend his entire life in a protected village, blankly watching his Master hammer swords... what meaning would life have?
So, at the age of 11, he gave up on forging swords, which he could never learn, and followed his Master, Godou River, to learn swordsmanship.
Godou River was not a Trainer specifically for training the next generation of swordsmen, so he only taught Haruto the simple Breathing Technique and swordsmanship that he himself knew.
After two and a half years of exploration and seeking advice from Mr. Rengoku Shinjuro, who didn't often visit the Swordsmith Village, Haruto mastered Flame Breathing and its first five forms.
"You don't seem like you should be learning Flame Breathing," Flame Pillar Rengoku Shinjuro once said, stroking his chin. "There isn't a burning will like a flame within your chest."
Haruto understood what he meant; he truly couldn't be as passionate about everything as Mr. Rengoku.
However, when he wielded his nichirin blade, he did indeed use the techniques of Flame Breathing.
Though they were very weak, that is.
Master Godou River often doubted whether Haruto could even pass the Demon Slayer Swordsmen examination—surviving seven days on Fujikasane Mountain, where demons were placed.
He always felt that with Haruto's meager skills, let alone surviving seven days, he might soil himself on the first day.
Yes, what he said was indeed... soil himself.
"If you find out then that you truly don't have what it takes... return to the wisteria-filled place and choose to withdraw."
"I've been practicing for two and a half years as an individual demon slayer swordsman, you know! Have a little faith in me! (╯‵□′)╯︵┴─┴!"
Although Master was very worried, Haruto's mind was made up.
As a transmigrator, I surely won't even fail the selection test... right.
Hmm, I've thought so much, I'm hungry now.
Haruto found a shady spot under a tree and sat down, placing his backpack in front of him, taking out his water bottle, and stuffing hand-rolled sushi into his mouth.
If transmigration had brought any physical changes to him, it was definitely an increased appetite, and he got hungry very quickly.
He once ate a maximum of 300 hand-rolled sushi in one sitting, making Godou River's face turn green.
A large amount of food was rapidly absorbed and digested by his body, then transformed into nutrients to nourish his muscles and bones, allowing him to recover physical and mental strength more quickly.
There's still more than a day's journey from here to Fujikasane Mountain, so I'll just eat 50 for now.
He arrived at Fujikasane Mountain before finishing the last sushi in his backpack.
This area belonged to the Ubuyashiki Family, who were also the generational leaders of the Demon Slayer Corps.
Demon Slayer Swordsmen captured some weaker demons and imprisoned them here, for the purpose of training new recruits.
As soon as he stepped in, Haruto saw wisteria everywhere.
Haruto ascended the steps, and amidst the interwoven wisteria and torii gates, he saw many young boys standing.
They all had long nichirin blades at their waists and wore various outfits, giving a cold glance when they saw someone approaching.
Haruto looked around, trying to remember what the protagonist of demon slayer looked like.
He only vaguely remembered that his name was Tanjirou, and when he appeared on the cover, he wore a black and green checkered haori.
He looked around and didn't see anyone wearing black and green checkered clothes, but in a corner, he saw two strange young boys standing with their arms crossed, wearing fox masks.
They both looked quite young; the one on the left had medium-length, fleshy pink hair and wore a haori woven with yellow, orange, and green; the other had black hair and was draped in a dark red haori.
Strange people.
Wouldn't wearing a mask obstruct their vision when slaying demons?
Just then, Haruto's vision suddenly blurred.
A line of white-on-black Simplified Chinese characters in Song font flashed across his sight.
[Senior Brother, my fated husband.]
?
Haruto raised a hand to rub his eyes, wondering if he was hallucinating from running for so long.
Unlike the Japanese he usually saw, which mixed kanji, hiragana, and katakana, this line of text was perfectly standard, upright Chinese.
What the heck?
Did the world glitch?
Did the bullet comments get stuck in my eyes?